Introducing The Madness & (May)hem Challenge!

A brand-new writing community challenge for May 2025!

My friends! Many of you may remember me from Flash Fiction February, which I hosted earlier this year using a combination of prompts from a deck of mine, and prompts from Sarah Rusch who I have dubbed the Prompt Goddess as her ideas are both inspired and compelling.

That event was a huge success, not only for me, but for countless others as well. So, I knew I wanted to host another challenge, but I wasn’t sure how I could switch it up. As my readers know, I love finding ways to experiment with new structures, concepts, and of course, prompts.

So, with all that out of the way, I’m pleased to announce that I have indeed devised a challenge that is worthy to follow in the footsteps of Flash Fiction February. Read on to learn about the first ever Madness and (May)hem Challenge!

A Month-Long Challenge Where the Only Certainty is Uncertainty

Like the name implies the Madness and (May)hem challenge is designed to keep you on your toes. Each day in May (starting today), I will be issuing a brand-new writing exercise designed to help you stretch your creative muscles and produce amazing new content for your publications and your readers.

The challenges range across a wide variety of variants, but nearly all of them are designed for both short stories and poetry as well. I want to include as many writers as possible this time around!

Here’s a few (purposefully vague) examples of what you can expect:

• Sequels and prequels to your existing stories

• Stories and poetry set in one of my connected universes

• Challenges that lean into specific tropes or structures

• The chance to have me record narration for your story

• Prompts that force you to write in unfamiliar genres

• And much, much more…

Now I know what you’re thinking: Bradley! How do I get in on this?!

It’s quite easy, my hypothetical reader/writer friend! All you have to do is keep an eye out on my subscriber chat. Every day, I will post an image in my subscriber chat with instructions for the day’s challenge.

Participate as often or as little as you’d like (and as time permits, of course). Feel free to tag me when you post your work, and I will make it my mission to read, like, comment, and restack!

So, what do you say? Ready for your first day’s challenge?

Your Madness and (May)hem Day 1 Prompt is…

I swear I did not plan for this to be the first prompt (I’m using a random number generator to select the prompt/challenge each day), but it looks like our first day’s challenge is a throwback to the classic Wild Card prompts I did during Flash Fiction February!

And they say the universe doesn’t have a sense of humor. Well, there you have it folks! For those who did not participate in Flash Fiction February, a Wild Card prompt means that you can write your entry in any genre you like!

The maximum word count for this prompt is 1,500 words. I look forward to seeing what you come up with, and don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss the other challenges all month long!

Let’s get writing!

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Thanks for Reading! Here’s Your Musical Pairing

Listen to this while you brainstorm ideas for today’s prompt!